The Roundabout: Dark money, an ousted library director and a Kid Rock fly-by

It’s time for our weekly Roundabout – a chance to step back and make sense of the biggest local headlines shaping Middle Tennessee.This week, we unpack the controversy over an Apache helicopter flyby at Kid Rock’s property that drew attention all the way to the White House, the firing of a library director who refused to remove LGBTQ-themed children’s books, and the role of dark money in ad campaigns aimed at protecting pharmacy consolidation. As always, our panel brings perspectives from the left, right, and center — and we make space for your voice, too. Guests:Levi Ismail, Emmy-award winning journalist, NewsChannel 5’s investigative unitKiran Sreepada, Former Democratic candidate for Congressional District 5 and former Director of Programs for the States ProjectChris Walker, founding partner, The Poplar Group

You could start listing the locally owned restaurants that have closed already this year and tell a pretty dire story: Margot, Varallos, Pelican & Pig. And we’re just three months into the year. But restaurants that are part of out-of-town investment groups have closed too — all while new concepts are opening up. Is it simply natural churn in a volatile business? We know it’s more expensive than ever to open and maintain a restaurant, so we're looking at the economics and the local food scene with the people who watch it most closely.This episode was produced by Josh Deepan. Guests: Jill Melton, Edible Nashville Editor & Founder Brandon Styll, Nashville Restaurant Radio Host and Nashville Area Restaurant Alliance Founder (NARA) Mackensy Lunsford, Senior Dining Reporter, The Tennessean Naima Walker Fierce, Germantown Pub Primary Owner

The White House is experimenting with state-level immigration laws in Tennessee, but most of those proposals have hit resistance, and it's now do-or-die time for any bills. An expansion of private school vouchers is also far from a done deal with some Republicans objecting to doubling the program without performance data available. And the state’s $58 billion budget has lobbyists in a frenzy to make sure their project is included. It’s the biggest business that remains for the Tennessee legislature with members of the state house press corps as our guide.Guests: Marianna Bacallao, power & equity reporter, WPLN News Melissa Brown, bureau chief, Chalkbeat Tennessee Sarah Grace Taylor, reporter, Nashville Banner Erik Schelzig, editor, The Tennessee Journal Mandy Spears, executive vice president, Sycamore Institute

Knuckleball pitchers are a small fraternity, and R.A. Dickey is one of its most notable members.R.A. Dickey learned the unpredictable knuckleball pitch as a last-ditch effort to save his major league baseball career. Once he mastered its spin-free magic, it transformed his game. But for Nashville’s own knuckleball king, that journey paralleled something deeper: an epiphany that reshaped his personal life.Once a risk-taker on and off the field, Dickey now takes his biggest risks in relationships, opening up about past trauma he once feared would push people away. In this episode, we slow down with Dickey to talk about working to end human trafficking, becoming an open book and, of course, the craziest pitch in baseball.This episode was produced by Mary Mancini.

WNXP is the music discovery go-to in Nashville.On 91.1, listeners get exposed to all kinds of songs not in their regular feed. But it doesn't stop there. They do more than tune in. Listeners play an active role in how playlists are curated, making the station an interactive, communal space for sonic lovers. In this episode, folks who have been with the station since the beginning share their strategies on how they bring their own knowledge base to the work and bust the online algorithms to bring you just the right song.This episode was produced by Josh Deepan. Guests  Celia Gregory, WNXP Morning Host Marquis Munson, WNXP Music Director Jason Moon Wilkins, WNXP Program Director Further inWNXP Sonic Cathedral Live Sessions

Each month, Mayor Freddie O’Connell joins us live in the studio to take your questions –– and nothing is off the table.We're asking about the latest on budgets and property taxes, updates on fairground racing, and a proposal to expand childcare access in Nashville. But as always, the most important questions are yours.So what’s been bothering you lately? Are you still dealing with lingering issues from the ice storm? Do you have concerns about your neighborhood, city services, or something small that just hasn’t been addressed? No matter how big, this is your chance to ask the man directly. 

Much of Middle Tennessee’s important Native American history has been disturbed by development.This has prompted listeners like Kelly Cannon to wonder what’s been lost. She asked Curious Nashville about something she’d heard about the Brentwood Library:"A colleague recently told me that when the Brentwood Library was built remains were found of ancient Mississippian people, along with evidence of ancient mounds. Is this true? Where were the bodies moved to? Who took responsibility for the remains?"WPLN’s Cynthia Abrams went to find the history of that site and shares the story — and its connections to other local sites, and the national movement for repatriation.We'll also talk to a ProPublica reporter about her reporting for 'The Repatriation Project' and the federal law that requires remains and artifacts to be returned to tribes — as well as the failure of institutions to do so. We also welcome Tom Kunesh, who is working to protect Native American sites across Tennessee.Guests:  Mary Hudetz, Investigative Reporter for ProPublica Tom Kunesh, President of Tennessee Ancient Sites Conservancy

Holly Kernan still needs Google Maps to get around Nashville and she's fine with that.Nashville Public Radio's new CEO came from Oakland, where she spent most of her career in public radio and where, as a fourth-generation Californian, she's a genuine rarity. Those deep roots didn't stop her from spending her entire young adulthood in Spain, though, lost and entirely at home making historical documentaries in her second language. It's a posture she's carried into every chapter of her life.Just over half a year in, we talk about what brought her to Nashville, what she sees in this city and what she believes public radio is now that federal funding is gone.The moment is hard. She'd also argue it's hopeful. By the end of this interview, you just might believe her.This episode was produced by Liv Lombardi.

We’ve learned a lot this week exploring the nuts and bolts of songwriting — from the creative process to the realities of the business. But we also have more questions.Today, three Nashville songwriters in various stages of their careers join us to tell us their stories and answer any lingering curiosities. Plus, they take your calls. Country Music Hall of Fame songwriter Rivers Rutherford, along with Rhys Rutherford and Joybeth Taylor, are in the studio. If you’ve ever wanted to pick the brain of an award-winning songwriter, this is your chance. This episode was produced by Liv Lombardi and Mary Mancini.Guests Rivers Rutherford, songwriter, The Highwaymen, Tim McGraw, Kenny Chesney, Brad Paisley and Dolly Parton, Montgomery Gentry, Gretchen Wilson, Trace Atkins and Brooks & Dunn Rhys Rutherford, singer/songwriter, Bailey Zimmerman’s “Is This Really Over?,” ERNEST’s “Hangin’ On (feat. Morgan Wallen),” George Pippen’s “Rest of Our Life” Joybeth Taylor, songwriter, “Choosin’ Texas” by Ella Langley reached #1 at Country Radio

The business of songwriting is a full-blown economy of its own — chock full of jargon like “splits,” “P-R-Os,” “plugger” and “mailbox money.”But what does it all mean? Today we follow the money: how writers get paid, what happens when a song gets cut, what the different kinds of publishing deals are, and what the implications are for copyrights now that AI has come to town. It’s day three of songwriting week and we’re talking about the business of songwriting.This episode was produced by Liv Lombardi and Mary Mancini.Guests Lydia Schultz Cahill, Sr. Director of Creative Services, SESAC Performing Rights, Nashville Dr. E. Michael Harrington, Musicologist Olivia Rudeen, singer-songwriter Chandler Nicole Sherrill, Senior Director of Creative, Electric Feel Entertainment